Thanks for the input, it does help. To address a few things- I'm considering a deck, my neighbor has the identical house (small 1950s ranch) and put a deck but his has a railing. I may not do a railing, instead wrap around stairs as its low enough local code won't require it. I plan to do a patio area in front of where the basement windows are and around the shed area. If I do this I'll have to do the pergola later. As for sun- the house faces south west, so this side faces north east ish. The sun in the afternoon isn't that bad, it's mainly to create a visual break between the townhouse windows and my own house's windows and back yard. It doesn't have to be a compound with real high walls and complete isolation. Now that I think about it, a solid pavilion will block out light from the house windows, so that further leans me towards a pergola. Bugs may be an issue as I had these dang biting insects in the past but I may have eradicated them by cutting down my overgrown bushes. My neighbors about 100 feet away have both a rear deck and a front porch and they regularly sit outside with no problem. Also, I am an avid DIYer, so building something like a pergola is not out of the question. I just used the "off the shelf" examples but nothing is off the table now.

Check out northern tools for some solar light kits and also lowes and home depot. We recently installed a 12 volt battery operated gate opener called the mighty mule. It is run off of a 12 volt deep cycle battery and we installed a 5 watt solar battery charger to charge the battery. If you are thinking about buying individual parts like the solar panel, lights, and battery to build your own system make sure you have a blocking diode which is wired in between the solar panel and the battery. Some solar panels have a blocking diode already installed. If you don't use a blocking diode at night the battery will start to drain it's charge. A diode keeps the battery current going one way. dave

What does the inside look like? If the bones are good, as others have said, throw a coat or two of paint on it and call it a day. Maybe that behr deckscapes stuff. Address the roof if its leaking, and maybe add a window for natural light, though it probably has a light as I see what looks like overhead power lines.

nickel_kg, I did what I could... :^) That really does show how narrow the plot is, but yes, it goes back a fair piece. That's a field behind the house (currently soybeans), and we don't have much problem with surface water; what does come off tends to run down the alley. I'd very much prefer trees, but I was also thinking about movable shade, a canopy of some kind that can come down in the winter. Not sure how feasible that is. There are a lot of things I'd LIKE to do in the space -- quoit pits, BBQ/outdoor bar shack, firepit lounge, grape arbor -- but there's only so much we can actually put in there without it being stupidly busy. So we want to make the best use of the space. We also have to consider that this is a retirement home, so we'd like at least one space for a car that's close to the house, and a level access to the door from there. So much to think about.